Method of producing hosiery



May 9, 1944. w. L. SMITH, JR

METHOD OF PRO DUCING HOSIERY Filed Jan. 16, 1942 s Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.Z.

P10. 3. F1014. F1441 May 9, 1944.

W. L. SMITH, JR

METHOD OF PRODUCING HOSIERY Filed Jan. 16, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2X/YI/ENTOE. MMMMLSMMZQ 76 W May 9, 1944. w, 1.. SMITH, JR

METHOD OF PRODUCING HOSIERY Filed Jan. 16, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 3MBA/T012. V

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Patented May 9, 1944 UNITED STATES 2,348,313 METHOD OF PRODUCING HOSIERYWilliam L. Smith, Jr.,

to Hemphill Company,

Pawtucket, R. 1., assignor Central Falls, R. L, a

corporation of Massachusetts Application January 16, 1942, Serial No.426,984

1 Claim.

- Fig. 2 is a section similar to Fig. 1 but illustrating a machineaccording to the present invention; I Fig. 3 is an elevation showing afew needles and sinkers, greatly enlarged, and proportioned according tostandard practice at this time in the circular, independent needleknitting art;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing proportions of needlesand sinkers according to the invention;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view of a knitted fabric, to a greatly enlargedscale, and illustrating such fabric as it would come from a present daycircular independent needle knitting machine;

Fig. 6 is a similar view but showing fabric as it comes from the machineand knitted by the new method herein described;

Fig. 7 is a similar enlarged view of fabric, this being the fabric ofFig. 5 as it would-actually appear when finished;

Fig. 8 is a similar view of Fig. 6 finished;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of a 3 /2" needle cylinder of the present type ofcircular, independent needle knitting machine;

Fig. 10 is a plan of a 4" needle cylinder as employed in practicing theinvention and to attain the same size of fabric as knitted on the 3 /2"cylinder of Fi 9;

Fig. 11 is an elevation of an ordinary half hose, the proportions inthis figure being taken from such a half hose knitted on a 3 machineaccording to the present system;

Fig. 12 is an elevation of a half hose knitted according to theinvention of this case;

Fig. 13 is a similar view showing the actual proportions of a men's halfhose and as the same would be finished from either the fabric of Fig. 11or that of Fig 12; and

Fig. 14 is an elevation of part of a needle showing to a greatlyenlarged scale how the hook has been reformed.

The invention of this case is a result of attempts at producing circularindependent needle, seamless type fabric of better character, appearanceand uniformity along with simplification of the knitting machine uponwhich it is knitted.

but showing the fabric According to the present practice and thepractice for many years, such fabric has been knitted by employingneedles and sinkers of such gage and dimensions as to draw both theneedle loops and the sinker loops of the same .size or very close to thesame size; Sometimes this fabric has been referred to as having a squarestitch. By that term which does not appear to be particularlydescriptive, it is merely to be under- 1 stood that the size and shapeof the needle loop is not different from that of the sinker loop, and infact, even under a fairly powerful microscope, it is diflicult todistinguish between the size and shape of the respective loops in needle15 and sinker wales.

In knitting mens half hose which commonly boarded to a width closelyapproximating 4", a 3 knitting machine is the common size employed, atleast, in the more common gages and for ordinarily employed counts ofyarn such as go into the majority of these half hose. The term width asusedhere means the lateral measurement of knitted tube when collapsed orflattened. In 3 /2" needle cylinders, and in fact, in practically allneedle cylinders used on machines of this type, the size of needleemployed has been kept down to a minimum, that is, a minimum whenconsidered from the point of view of taking the particular yarn or yarnsto be knitted within the needle hook.

According to the present invention, the principle of knitting has beenchanged so that instead of knitting the so-called "square stitch,needlesare to be employed which are of a much as coarser gage for theparticular yarn to be knitted than would be used according to thepresent .method and also said needles are of a relatively coarse gagecompared to the sinkers used with them. The number of needles is kept atabout the number which is now employed but the size of needle cylinderis increased considerably, so that the machine is designed about anappreciably larger needle cylinder in which are operatively controlledneedles of much coarser gage with sinkers which would, according toprevious practice, have been considered entirely too fine for the gageof the needles.

The stitch cams are so proportioned and adjusted as to draw needles downto a lesser extent to than needles of that particular gage would bedrawn according to the present practice.

The fabric knitted in such a machine and by the herein described methodwill be characterized by large needle loops and small sinker loops. Thatis, as the fabric comes from the machine the sinker wales will becomprised oi relatively tight and narrow sinker loops while the needleloops will be coarser as compared to the said sinker loops. In finishingthe fabric which incidentally comes from the machine much wider thanwould be a fabric coming from the machine now employed, it is boardeddown to a desired width and, of course, elongates correspondinglywhereupon there occurs a redistribution of yarn in the needle and sinkerstitches. That redistribution can be controlled throughout aconsiderable extent during the finishing process, but the appearance andcharacter, especially the uniformity of the fabric, are not lost so longas the redistribution is kept within reasonable limits.

As circular, independent needle, seamless fabric comes from the machineat present, there is no apparent distinction between needle and sinkerwales. According to the system of this invention there is a markeddistinction in the appearance of the fabric. It is characterized byoutstanding narrow sinker wales at its outer face with grooves orchannels between them. This appearance is retained even after thefinishing operation although the grooves or channels between sinkerwales are narrowed down and, in fact, the sinker wales themselves or thestitches therein are individually elongated upon the attendantelongation of the entire fabric as it is finished.

The amount of yarn entering into the construction of a half hose, or forthat matter, any type of hosiery, is practically the same by eithermethod. In fact, for knitting a men's half hose, the chain controllingthe machine will be prac tically a duplicate of the chain used in thepresout day machine. However, the fabric will come from the machine muchwider and will have to be finished, as above stated, by narrowing itdown and lengthening it to standard dimensions acceptable for suchhosiery.

Now referring to the figures of drawing, the invention has beenillustrated by comparative showings of what constitutes the commonpractice at the present time and the practice according to thisinvention. In Fig. l a fragment of a needle cylinder i is shown havingneedle walls 2 and the slots 3 in which needles would be movable. Whilea needle cylinder would of course have a definite curvature such thatthe walls 2 would be radially disposed, to simplify the illustration,that curvature and radial disposal are not shown here.

In Fig. 2 a similar cylinder 4 has walls 5 which are, as can be seen.thinner than the walls 2 so that the slots 8 are considerably wider thanslots 3. The distance between needles is also greater due to inclusionof the same number of needles in a cylinder of greater diameter. Thusthe slots are wider for two reasons. These Figs. 1 and 2 are drawn tentimes actual size and the walls and slots in Fig. 1 correspond to thosewhich characterize a 3 needle cylinder adapted to accommodate 48 gageneedles. Such needles are .024" thick at their shanks but are swageddown to a hook diameter of .016" at their yarn engaging portions. Fig. 2shows to the same scale a 4" needle cylinder adapted to accommodate 220needles of 24 gage, and having a thickness of .034" at the shank and adiameter of .022" for the wire at the yarn engaging portion ofthe hook.

Figs. 3 and 4 are also to a scale ten times actual size, Fig. 3 showsneedles 1 adapted to operate in the slots 3 of the ordinary 3 /2" needlecylinder with sinkers 8 of .007" thickness, the now accepted thicknessand size of sinkers ordinarily used with the said 48 gage needles 1.With needles 1 and sinkers 8 installed in the 3 /2" needle cylinder Iand a sinker head (not shown) adapted to be used therewith, fabric couldbe knitted having the so-called "square stitch," that is, the fabricproduced with that combination would show no appreciable distinctionbetween the size of a sinker loop and a needle loop as it comes from themachine, and of course, it is not practicable to finish any waledistinction into the fabric, since Just the opposite is the eflect ofthe finishing operation.

Now referring to Fig. 4, needles 3 are of 24 gage and have a shankthickness of .034" thus being adapted to operate in the slots 8 of the4" needle cylinder, Fig. 2. sinkers I0 are of the same thickness andsize as the sinkers 8, Fig. 3. It can be seen that these needles are ofmuch coarser gage than those commonly employed at the present time withsinkers of such size as sinkers 8 or I 0.

In most instances the hook portion of a needle is of circular crosssection and is of a lesser thickness or diameter than the thickness ofthe needle shank. This is not absolutely necessary, but is generallypracticed and it is the cross sectional dimension of the needle hook atthat part of the same where the yarns are drawn with which we areconcerned. In the 4 8 gage needles, Fig. 3, that dimension is .016" andin the 24 gage needles, Fig. 4, the diameter of the wire as it isreduced at the hook is .022". The actual space left at the sides ofsinkers, between them and adjacent needles, is less than it wouldnormally be in present practice.

When drawing stitches, needles are not drawn down to the extent whichthey might be if fabric were to be knitted according to the method now Ipracticed and of a yarn such as normally would be fed to needles of thatcase. It is to be understood that the cylinder, needle and sinkercombination of Figs. 2 and 4 will knit the same yarns as will thatcombination of Figs. 1 and 3. In addition to knitting the same yarns, itis found that the combination of Figs. 2 and 4 employed according to theinvention herein described will knit yarns of a greater range or sizesand types than will that of Figs. 1 and 3. However, the

- needles 8 are not employed to draw yarn of a size such as that gageneedles would be employed to draw if used with sinkers and according tothe method of knitting now used.

Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, fabric is shown as it comes from themachine. In Fig. 5 needle wales II have stitches of practically the samesize and shape as sinker wales l2. In Fig. 6 needle wales, such as thewale l3, are much larger than the cooperating sinker wales l4. Thecoarser needles 8 draw the larger needle stitches while, due to theshorter distance to which the needles are drawn and the comparative sizeof the sinkers, sinker stitches are smaller and tighter. It is also truethat a corresponding number of courses according to the new method, Fig.6, extends a comparatively shorter" distance than that number of coursesby the method as now practiced, Fig. 5. The amount of yarn in a combinedneedle and sinker loop according to either method is, however,practically the same. While the fabric of Fig. 6 does not accumulate orcome from the machine as fast in a lengthwise direction, it does comeofl! the machine much wider since the machine has a greater diameter.

Now in Figs. '1 and s the fabrics of Figs. and

6, respectively, have been illustrated as they would be finished. Thefabric of Fig. 5 remains substantially the same-in its general apthefinishing operation and is also elongated a great deal beyond theoriginal length in which it comes from the machine. In that finishingprocess there is a redistribution of yarn in each individual loop sothat part of each needle loop flows into the adjacent sinker loops whichare elongated slightly as the fabric is drawn out lengthwise during Thedegree to which this readjustment in the finishing takes place isgovernable by the finishing process it self. The width and length of thefabric of Fig. 8 corresponds to that of Fig. '7 so that the fabric ofFig. 6 finishes to practically the same size as the fabric of Fig. 5.

While there has been no appreciable distinction nor individualcharacterization of a sinker wale as compared to a needle wale in eitherFigs. 5 or '7, the same is not true of Figs. 6 and 8. As the fabriccomes from the machine, Fig. 6, one of the most noticeable features isthe tight sinker loops which make up very prominent vertical sinkerwales separated by the cross bars I5 of the needle loops. This gives tothe fabric a distinctly ridged appearance very similar to the appearanceof fabric knitted on the typical full fashioned type machine. Thatappearance is still existent in the finished fabric, Fig. 8, needlewales I3 still being appreciably wider than sinker wales I4 and the saidsinker loops still being the smaller of the two. The'cross bars I5 ofthe needle loops have shortened up considerably as the sinker loopselongate. However, the sinker loop and likewise the sinker wales aremainly changed in their form by their lengthwise elongation rather thanby any coursewise spreading so that as long as the finishing is notcarried to a point so that both needle and sinker loops appear of equalsize, the characteristic narrow sinker wales separated by grooves orchannels resulting from the appreciably wider needle wales stillprevail.

In Figs. 9 and 10 a needle cylinder of 3 diameter is shown at I6, Fig.9, and a 4 cylinder at IT, Fig. 10. These views show the proportionateincrease in size of needle cylinder for carrying out the invention, andwhile 3 and 4" apply to machines for knitting ordinary types of menshalf hose, the same proportion, or approximately that, is to be observedand followed in knitting other types of hosiery or other fabrics. Ofcourse childrens wear is made on machines having cylinders of muchsmaller diameter than the 3 cylinder and likewise some heavy sport socksare made on cylinders larger than 3 according to the method nowpracticed but the proportions herein set up, is followed along withproportionately larger needle size, will allow the same advantages toberealized in knitting fabric of all types and sizes. The increase ofcylinder size here is slightly over 14%. The invention may be practicedwith increase in cylinder size of 10% to 20% v the size cylinder usedaccording to the method now in use.

In Figs. 11, 12 and 13, the comparative proportions of unfinishedstockings coming from the old machine, the new machine and the stockingfinished from both are shown. In Fig. 11, to a reduced scale, the exactproportions of a stocking appear as it comes from a 3 machine adapted toproduce mens half hose. The top [8 is of any desirable type such as atransferred; true rib top or an elastic self-supporting top. The leg I9and foot 29 would be constituted of fabric such as illustrated in Fig.5. The heel 2| and toe 22 are knitted by reciprocatory work as is theusual practice.

Upon finishing the fabric, the top is not changed materially. This ismerely designated at 23, Fig. 13, but the leg 24 and foot 25 of thefinished stocking, Fig. 13, have been narrowed down to very close to 4"with a corresponding increase in length. Naturally the heel and toeassume more nearly their theoretically correct shapes and the toe hasbeen looped to produce a finished article. If the finished stocking ofFig. 13 coming from the blank of Fig. 11 were to be viewed through amicroscope, the actual stitch structure would appear very much like thatof Fig. '7.

Now reverting to Fig. 12, the top of the stocking blank 26 is likewiseof any desired type, but the remainder of the fabric knitted accordingto the new method and upon a machine as herein described having a 4"cylinder and correspondingly proportioned needles and sinkers forpracticing the invention, has a much wider leg 21 and foot 28 althoughthese are correspondingly shorter so that the blank as it comes off themachine has a distinctly different shape. The heel 29 and toe 30 arealso larger, but finish down in the finishing process as do the leg andfoot.

Proper finishing for this stocking blank of Fig. 12 will bring it topractically the same shape and size as has been illustrated in Fig. 13,in other words, a standard mens half, hose.

In Fig. 14 one of the needles 9 is shown ten times actual size and asseen in side elevation, the book of a needle of 24 gage would normallybe as indicated at 3|, dot and dash lines. In practicing the instantinvention, this hook is squeezed together as at 32 so that actually thewire of the hook is that of a 24 gage needle but the curvature of thehook is changed so that the yarn space within the hook is considerablyless and as a loop is cast off, the cross-sectional area of the latchspoon and the hook is lessened thereby streamlining the needle to anextent. This gives the advantage of drawing a large needle loop, butdoes not strain the loops when they are cast off as might be the case ifthe original type of needle hook were employed for the particular gageneedle being considered. Here the distance from back of hook to face ofthe bill of the hook is .069" so that dimension compared to the wirediameter bears a ratio of about 3:1.

The fabric structure of the leg and foot of the stocking blank of Fig.12 will appear like that illustrated in Fig. 6, but upon finishing, theappearance of Fig. 8 is obtained.

Of course, boarding is the final step in finishing and follows wettingas by boiling or dyeing. In the wetting out of the fabric the same drawstogether laterally to a great extent, at least enough so that it willhave to be drawn on the board and stretched laterally to some degree. Italso lengthens out in the wetting process. Now as an actual matter offact, the stocking as knitted in Fig. 12 will be drawn on a board easierthan that of Fig. 11. It is not necessary to extend the fabric laterallyso much although'it is probably necessary to draw it out lengthwise alittle more. would be boarded more easily and with less tendency towarddestruction or possible injury of any part of the stocking at that time.

The heel and toe of a. stocking knitted according to the known practicedo not have the same characteristic appearance the circularly knitfabric of the leg or foot normally has. In fact, the appearance will benot far different from that of Figs. 5 and '7 except that there will bean inclination of the stitches in adjacent courses, one course in onedirection and the next in the other. That results from drawing loops toincline in opposite directions in accordance with the reciprocation ofthe needle cylinder. Finishing changes the fabric of Fig. 5 very little,also changes the heel or toe fabric very little, so that this uneveneffect is most always visible in a finished stocking according to thepresent systern."

Now if knitted by the method herein disclosed, there is the sameuniformity of appearance in the reciprocatorlly knitted fabric as inthat knitted in non-reciprocatory work, and then, redistribution of thematerial in each stitch as illustrated. in Figs. 6 and 8, brings aboutan improvement which practically eliminates any tendency toward washboard effect.

As before stated, the needles are drawn down to a lesser extentaccording to the new method than needles would be drawn to knitcorrespondingly sized yarns according to the old method. The actualdistance or extent to which needles are drawn, in accordance with thenew method is very close to 50% of the actual needle movement below thestitch drawing edge of the sinker or web holder in a machine of thepresent type. That is, in a machine having sinkers and needies of sizesuch as described with respect to Fig. 3, needles would be drawn downapproximately of an inch, but in the new machine as in Fig. 4, thelarger needles are drawn down only about 3 2- of an inch below thestitch drawing edge of the sinker or web holder.

In drawing stitches by the system now employed, considerable robbing ofyarn between loops occurs as the formation of the fabric progresses. Nowsince needles which are considerably larger are used and since thoseneedles are spaced farther apart (from to 20%) and are not drawn downmore than about half the distance they would be drawn according to thepresent practice, less robbing results and greater uniformity ismaintained. Also, the sinker loops are drawn much smaller and tighterthan they normally would be and since that is a fact, robbing is notappreciable according to this new method and the yarn drawn has to comefrom the source of supply. These factors all help in maintaininguniformity of appearance and betterquality.

The fabric finished as has been described according to Fig. 8, has fullyas much lateral extensibility as fabric knitted and finished accordthefabric of Fig. 8 for size, etc. In a length- However, the net result isthat it wise direction the extensibility is greater thanat presentprovided. This extensibility is realized without any loss of elasticity.The fabric finished down to 4" as for men's half hose may be extendedwidthwise to a limit of about 8%", but when released, displays very goodelasticity and returns practically to the original dimension.

The larger sized cylinder not only enters into the machine combinationand is essential to the practice of the invention from a viewpoint of0btaining the desirable fabric characteristics, but is a most desirablefeature when considered in its association with the rest of the machine.Naturally, there will be more room within the cylinder itself, but also,elements about the cylinder are not so crowded and thus close points maybe avoided in the machine design and more satisfactory manipulation ofcams, selecting mechanism, etc., realized. Since the stitch drawingmovement of needles is much less than now practiced, and since thecircumferential space about the cylinderwithin which any cam controlledmovement is made can be increased considerably, the angle of stitch orother cams need not be so steep. This allows more latitude in the designand shape of cam surfaces and results in smoother operation with lessbreakage of butts and less tendency toward violent or excessively rapidcam action.

larger needles which naturally have butts of greater size, also largerjacks used therewith make it very unlikely that butts should break underaction. In fact, the speed of the machine may be increased considerablyand need not be limited, as has sometimes been the case, due to frailtyof needle or jack butts.

.ioot knitting the uniformity of the fabric makes it unnecessary toattempt to board out the wellknown "wash board effect or to eliminatethe same by rather closely adjusted and complicated machine attachments.

In knitting float work such as patterns by the floating and platingmethod, there has always been a tendency toward tightness of the fabricsince the floats restrict extensibility in a lateral direction. Withthat thought in mind, such patterns have been made avoiding too manyfloats. Here the fabric coming rorn a larger cylinder and being finisheddown to a dimension comparable to that of fabric knitted on a smallercylinder avoids some, at least, of this tendency toward tightness. Thefloat pattern has much more latitude and many more floats can be allowedsincethe additional length of the floats due to increase in cylindersize always allows that much more extensibility. This results since thegreater original diameter of the knitted tube provides slackness in thefloats after the fabric is finished.

Tuck patterns appear slightly different from tuck patterns knitted onthe conventional machine since in finishing the fabric down, the tuckstitches which are needle loops do not appear to contract or to give uptheir yarn to elon-.

, elastic in any of its forms.

The description has been made with reference to modified 24 gage needlesemployed with sinkers of .007" width. It is to be understood that thisproportion has been found quite satisfactory, vbut slight variation fromit is of course possible while still getting perfectly usable results.Another combination of needle and sinkers which may be used is that of18 gage needles with a hook wire diameter of .028" when used withsinkers of either .007" or .010" thickness. These specific examples havebeen given since the dimensions are to some extent standard thickness ofsinker steel and needle wire, although, of course, the particularcombination is in no sense standard at the present time. Expressing itin another way, the needle hook diameter when compared to the thicknessof the working or stitch drawing edge of a sinker may 'range from 2.8 to4 times the latter dimension.

The invention has been described by giving one specific example as tothe'manner in which it is practiced. It is to be understood thatvariations are contemplated within thelimits herein set up as beingcritical and the invention is defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

A method of producing hosiery including the steps of measuring anddrawing needle and sinker loops in a circular, independent needleknitting machine equipedwith latch needles and drawing the needle loopsmuch larger than sinker loops and thereafter finishing the fabric bysubstantially reducing its lateral dimension and increasing thelongitudinal, thereby elongating sinker wales while reducing the widthof needle wales, but still leaving needle wales substantially wider thansinker wales.

WILLIAM L. SMITH, JR.

